Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury was comfortably the biggest retail game in the UK last week and is the fastest version of the year so far.
The Switch platform game is an updated relaunch of the Wii U 2013 title, complemented by a new side adventure. Its release is almost three times larger than the original game, which debuted at number 14 in late November 2013 (same day as the PS4 release). It is worth noting that the installation base of the Wii U was small then compared to the Switch.
It’s actually the third largest release for a Mario platform game on the Nintendo Switch, ahead of 2D games – Super Mario Maker 2 (June 2019) and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (January 2019) – but behind the 3D titles – – Super Mario Odyssey (October 2017) and Super Mario 3D All-Stars (September 2020), which seems somewhat suitable for a game that is a cross between Mario’s 2D and 3D adventures. The physical launch sales of the title are over 2.5 times higher than New Super Mario Bros. U, but one third lower than Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
Overall, it looks like a solid performance. There are a number of Mario games that are pushing the market right now, competing with each other, including last year’s All-Stars game. In fact, the 3D collection (No. 12) saw an 11% increase in sales this week, and Super Mario Odyssey (No. 14) enjoyed a 28% increase in sales. With Mario Kart 8: Deluxe at No. 5, New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe at No. 16, Super Mario Party at No. 18 and Luigi’s Mansion 3 at No. 19, there are seven games set in the Mario universe in the Top 20 box.
It wasn’t just Mario this week, with Bandai Namco’s Little Nightmares 2 debuting at number 7. The boxed version of the game sold best on PS4 (43% of sales), followed by Switch (37%), then Xbox One (18%) and PC (2%). This chart does not cover digital sales.
Elsewhere, FIFA 21 is up five places to No. 3, after a 140% increase in sales, driven by cuts that brought the game below £ 30. The arrival of the new PS5 consoles also gave Spider-Man: Miles Morales a boost, rising eight places to 4th place with a 264% increase in sales. The PS5 Demon’s Souls exclusive also re-entered the charts this week, rising 401% in weekly sales to 17th place.
In total, 270,000 box games were sold in the UK in recent weeks, up 44% from the previous week.
Here are the Top GfK for the week ending February 13:
| Last week | In this week | Title |
|---|---|---|
| New entry | 1 | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Rage |
| 1 | 2 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
| 8 | 3 | FIFA 21 |
| 12 | 4 | Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 2 | 5 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe |
| 3 | 6 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War |
| New entry | 7 | Little Nightmares 2 |
| 5 | 8 | Minecraft (Switch) |
| 10 | 9 | Assassin’s Creed Valhalla |
| 4 | 10 | Ring Fit Adventure |